Technology is known whereby the state of the peripheral area of a vehicle is displayed on the screen of a display or the like as viewed from above. An example of such technology is a technology whereby an image of a pseudo-other-vehicle synthesized based on the size of the other vehicle is displayed superimposed on a captured image (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the configuration of vehicle display apparatus 11 disclosed in Patent Literature 1. In FIG. 1, vehicle display apparatus 11 is provided with camera group 12, distance sensor group 13, image processing apparatus 14, display 15, imaging condition detection apparatus 16, and obstacle position detection apparatus 17.
Camera group 12 is an apparatus for imaging the surroundings of the vehicle in question. Camera group 12 includes one or more cameras attached to the periphery of the body of the vehicle in question. Distance sensor group 13 is an apparatus for detecting an obstacle present in the peripheral area. Distance sensor group 13 includes one or more sensors attached to the vehicle in question.
Image processing apparatus 14 functions as surrounding image combining section 41, vehicle detection section 42, pseudo-vehicle drawing section 43, and image combining section 44, by means of various programs stored beforehand in ROM (Read Only Memory).
Surrounding image combining section 41 performs perspective transforms of a plurality of peripheral image data obtained by camera group 12 to overhead-viewpoint images viewed from above the vehicle in question, combines these images into a single image, and generates a vehicle-surroundings image. Vehicle detection section 42 uses distance sensor group 13 obstacle detection data and the vehicle-surroundings image to detect another vehicle that is present in the area around the vehicle in question.
Pseudo-vehicle drawing section 43 draws a pseudo-image (pseudo-vehicle image) in which a vehicle detected by vehicle detection section 42 is viewed from above, in match with the detected wheels and body. A pseudo-vehicle image used by pseudo-vehicle drawing section 43 is recorded in a ROM or suchlike database. Image combining section 44 combines a vehicle-surroundings image and a pseudo-vehicle image, and generates a surroundings image that includes another vehicle present in the area around the vehicle in question.
Display 15 displays an image of the surroundings of the vehicle in question based on a surroundings image signal.